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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
earth and planetary sciences
The yellow hypergiant HR 5171 A: Resolving a massive interacting binary in the common envelope phase
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 563, Article A71, Year 2014
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Description
Only a few stars are caught in the very brief and often crucial stages when they quickly traverse the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, and none has yet been spatially resolved in the mass transfer phase. Aims. We initiated long-term optical interferometry monitoring of the diameters of massive and unstable yellow hypergiants (YHG) with the goal of detecting both the long-term evolution of their radius and shorter term formation of a possible pseudo-photosphere related to proposed large mass-loss events.Methods. We observed HR5171 A with AMBER/VLTI. We also examined archival photometric data in the visual and near-IR spanning more than 60 years, as well as sparse spectroscopic data. Results. HR 5171 A exhibits a complex appearance. Our AMBER data reveal a surprisingly large star for a YHG R* = 1315±260 R (or ∼6.1AU) at the distance of 3.6 ±0.5 kpc. The source is surrounded by an extended nebulosity, and these data also show a large level of asymmetry in the brightness distribution of the system, which we attribute to a newly discovered companion star locatedin front of the primary star. The companions signature is also detected in the visual photometry, which indicates an orbital period of Porb = 1304 ±6 d. Modeling the light curve with the NIGHTFALL program provides clear evidence that the system is a contact or possibly over-contact eclipsing binary. A total current system mass of 39+4022 M and a high mass ratio q ≥ 10 is inferred for the system.Conclusions. The low-mass companion of HR5171 A is very close to the primary star that is embedded within its dense wind. Tight constraints on the inclination and v sin i of the primary are lacking, which prevents us from determining its influence precisely on the mass-loss phenomenon, but the system is probably experiencing a wind Roche-Lobe overflow. Depending on the amount of angular momentum that can be transferred to the stellar envelope, HR5171 A may become a fast-rotating B[e]/luminous blue variable/Wolf-Rayet star. In any case, HR 5171 A highlights the possible importance of binaries for interpreting the unstable YHGs and for massive star evolution in general. © ESO 2014.
Authors & Co-Authors
Chesneau, Olivier
France, Nice
Laboratoire Joseph-louis Lagrange
Meilland, Anthony
France, Nice
Laboratoire Joseph-louis Lagrange
Chapellier, Eric
France, Nice
Laboratoire Joseph-louis Lagrange
Millour, F.
France, Nice
Laboratoire Joseph-louis Lagrange
Van Genderen, A. M.
Netherlands, Leiden
Sterrewacht Leiden
Nazé, Yaël
Belgium, Liege
Université de Liège
Smith, Nathan
United States, Tucson
The University of Arizona
Spang, A.
France, Nice
Laboratoire Joseph-louis Lagrange
Smoker, Jonathan V.
Chile, Santiago
European Southern Observatory Santiago
Dessart, L.
France, Marseille
Laboratoire D'astrophysique de Marseille
Kanaan, S.
Chile, Valparaiso
Universidad de Valparaiso
Bendjoya, Philippe
France, Nice
Laboratoire Joseph-louis Lagrange
Feast, M. W.
South Africa, Cape Town
South African Astronomical Observatory
South Africa, Cape Town
University of Cape Town
Groh, Jose H.
Switzerland, Geneva
Faculty of Science
Lobel, Alex
Belgium, Brussels
Royal Observatory of Belgium
Nardetto, Nicholas
France, Nice
Laboratoire Joseph-louis Lagrange
Otero, S.
United States, Cambridge
American Association of Variable Star Observers
Oudmaijer, René D.
United Kingdom, Leeds
University of Leeds
Tekola, Abiy Getachew
South Africa, Cape Town
South African Astronomical Observatory
United States, Santa Barbara
Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Inc
Whitelock, Patricia A.
South Africa, Cape Town
South African Astronomical Observatory
South Africa, Cape Town
University of Cape Town
Arcos, C.
Chile, Valparaiso
Universidad de Valparaiso
Cure, M.
Chile, Valparaiso
Universidad de Valparaiso
Vanzi, Leonardo
Chile, Santiago
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Statistics
Citations: 25
Authors: 23
Affiliations: 15
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1051/0004-6361/201322421
ISSN:
00046361
e-ISSN:
14320746